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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607003503920 | Adult Fiction | VANDERMEER Jeff | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Named one of NPR's Best Books of 2021
From the author of Annihilation , a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things.
Security consultant "Jane Smith" receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control.
Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina's footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out--for her and possibly for the world.
Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.
Author Notes
Jeff VanderMeer is the author of Dead Astronauts, Borne , and The Southern Reach Trilogy , the first volume of which, Annihilation , won the Nebula Award and the Shirley Jackson Award and was adapted into a movie by Alex Garland. He speaks and writes frequently about issues relating to climate change as well as urban rewilding. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, on the edge of a ravine, with his wife, Ann VanderMeer, and their cat, Neo.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in a world far along the path to ecological and political breakdown, this striking mix of thriller and biotech speculative fiction from VanderMeer (Dead Astronauts) charts a seemingly mad quest by its anonymous narrator, who suggests the reader call her Jane Smith. One morning at a coffee shop in an unspecified city in the Pacific Northwest, where Jane does somewhat nebulous work at a security firm, a barista hands Jane an envelope with a storage unit address, a key, and a note. In the storage unit, Jane finds a box containing a preserved hummingbird and a note with the words Hummingbird and Salamander, signed Silvina. Thus begins Jane's quixotic effort to discover the whereabouts and fate of probable ecoterrorist Silvina Vilcapampa, as well as the salamander mate to the hummingbird. Jane's traveling to New York City in search of Silvina alerts mysterious foes. Attacks on Jane and her work colleagues as well as surveillance of her home prompt her to abandon her husband and teenage daughter and embark on a yearslong, possibly fruitless quest to discover the truth. Exquisite prose pulls the reader deep into the labyrinthine plot. VanderMeer reinforces his place as one of today's most innovative writers. Agent: Sally Harding, CookeMcDermid. (Apr.)
Library Journal Review
VanderMeer's latest is a departure from his previous work (Borne; Ambergris; the "Southern Reach" trilogy") in that it is less ostensibly science fiction. The story centers on a narrator who calls herself Jill, though this is not her real name. Jill is mysteriously contacted by old friend Silvina, who sends a note directing her to a storage space containing a taxidermied hummingbird. Jill is compelled to investigate Silvina and discovers a network of ecological initiatives and possible bioterrorism funded by her wealthy family. (Silvina means "of the forest" in Latin, so her character is aptly named.) Suddenly, Jill is plunged into a dangerous web of murder and violence perpetrated by former colleagues of Silvina's, which continues until Jill narrowly escapes death and loses everything. Revelations about Jill's family lead to a simmering conclusion. VERDICT VanderMeer brings his trademark atmospheric and heavily lyrical writing style to the arena of species extinction and climate degradation. He shows that, in a creepily curious way, taxidermy and extinction are intertwined fates for doomed animals. There is an implied connection to the present COVID-19 pandemic, with dire consequences. Recommended for fans of the author, though mainstream readers may find the story deliberately inscrutable.--Henry Bankhead, San Rafael P.L., CA